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Bottled Feb 2013
Poured with no head a murky orange
Smell is quite sour and fruity with a little vinegar
Taste was very disappointing. like burnt popcorn soaked in vinegar.
Mouthfeel was alright, although completely flat

Enjoyed out of a 375 mL green bottle with a cork and cage with a bright red cap. Poured into a Boulevard Smokestack Series tulip glass.

Appearance - Pours a hazy amber golden hue with darker brass shadows and a spun gold highlight where the light refracts through the glass. Atop the body sits a wimpy eight-finger head that dissipates before it even really grows into anything. It quickly settles as a lazy ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass. For what little there it, the color appears to be off white.

Smell - Pretty forward with notes of the strawberry that is pictured on the label. A slight pinch of sour with sweetness, much like a strawberry tart with notes of rhubarb. There is also considerable funk and mustiness like the tart has sat out a bit too long and just barely started to develop that twinge of spoilage. It's hard to explain, but it doesn't smell moldy or rotten--just strongly influenced by wild bacteria and funky yeast.

Taste - Here the distinctive strawberry notes seem to fade back, pushed out of the way by a strong puckering acidity reminiscent of sour candy, but not quite as sweet. That same musty funk is still present, with now a bit more definition revealing itself as woody oak and vinegar. I was really impressed by the smell, as strange as it was, but the taste is too one note. I love a good sour, but this one is sour enough that you really don't get much else. A little time warming up allows the fruity phenols to show through, but it doesn't get any less tart.

Mouthfeel - Light bodied and low carbonation with just barely enough tingly sensations to avoid feeling flat to the tongue.

Overall, an interesting take on the lambic style, as most fruit lambics either stick to some old standbys--cherries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.--or they are sugary sweet messes a la Lindeman's. I'm not sure I would buy this particular Hanssens again, but this is another beer that shows that they seem to know their way around a sour beer or three.

Served from a corked and caged 375ml bottle into a Hill Farmstead stemmed tulip. Served at cellar temps.

Appearance- Beautiful golden/orange with zero head and no bubbles bouncing around the glass. Absolutely beautiful color.

Smell- So funky. Asparagus, fresh cut wet grass, some fruit, but I can't determine if its strawberries or not. Lemon acidity takes over the rest of the lingering funky smell. Truly the funkiest beer I've smelled to date.

Taste- Herbaceous, piney, vanilla oak flavors, lemon rind, and very light strawberry at the end. Lingering vinegar acidic flavors. Much more earthy than fruity. Would be better with some carbonation.

12.7 fl oz green glass (ugh...) bottle with hood-and-wire cap (aka cage) over a branded cork acquired at Argonaut Liquor and served into a slender stem-tulip in me parents' gaff in high altitude Castle Rock, Colorado. Reviewed live. Expectations are high given the brewery. Reviewed as a lambic because the label identifies it as such. 6% ABV confirmed. "Ale brewed with strawberries."

Served cold - straight from the fridge - and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: No bubble show forms as it pours.

Pours no head whatsoever - just a weak floater ring of white colour.

Body colour is a cloudy peach-copper of average vibrance. Translucent. Quasitransparent. No floating yeast particles are visible. Appears adequately carbonated.

Overall, it's not unique or special but I find it rather inviting. There are no egregious flaws here. I'm looking forward to trying it.

Sm: Definite strawberry notes are noticeable and abundant. Also some peach and maybe some apricot. Has a nice lambic yeast-induced tart sourness. There's also some lactobacillus bacterial sourness. The fruitiness is fantastic. Any malts are so seamlessly integrated as to not be noticeable. Some floral and fruity hop character complements the overall aroma nicely. No alcohol presence is noticeable.

A pleasant, inviting fruit-dominant aroma of moderate strength.

I don't notice any off-notes. This is shaping up to be pretty good stuff.

T: Hm; structurally it's almost a disaster, with all the fruity notes packed right up front and on the open, and all the sourness harshly contained to the backend. It's not an even transition by any means. The sweetness up front yields immediately to the bacterial and wild lambicus yeast sourness - a sourness which is aggressive and unforgiving. Luckily for me, I love that bold sourness in a lambic. The fruity notes up front match those encountered in the aroma - peach, strawberry, and apricot. Tame timid floral and fruity hop notes complement the fruit nicely.

Not much malt presence here. No alcohol presence is noticeable.

Certainly imbalanced structurally, but as divisive as the structure is I still like the flavour profile. Not at all cohesive or gestalt, but very likable. Good complexity. Not much subtle or intricacy, but the fruity end showcases some surprising nuance. The strawberry never feels artificial (as it tends to in most beers). Above average depth, duration, and intensity of flavour. I suppose it's puckerworthy.

If Cascade Kriek is a 10 on the sour scale, this is about an 8.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Acidic and soft. Well-carbonated. Medium-bodied. Quenching and refreshing. Has that fantastic smacky sour feel on the palate. Chewy. A bit too thin. Complements the flavour profile well and fits neatly within style conventions.

Not oily, tannic, astringent, boozy, or hot.

Dr: Extremely drinkable. I'll make short work of this bottle. Another damn solid sour from Hanssens. I wouldn't get it again at this price point here in the states, but I'd happily throw a couple in the cellar if I could get it at Belgian prices. It executes strawberry surprisingly well and I'd recommend friends try it at least once. Perhaps a bit simple for a lambic, but it'll definitely satisfy any sour lover's itch. Give this one a spin. You'll murder it inside 5 minutes. I know I did.

like nothing else on the market, one of the best uses of strawberries I have ever come across. pours dense and golden, pushing brassy, with some more sediment as the bottle gets low. literally no head or bubbles at all, completely still, not totally appealing to be honest, but I trust its sourness right away. as soon as the cork is off, this beer starts emitting tartness and funky sour all over the shop. I can smell it in my jawline, a mouthwatering brew here, with unripe fruit and lacto notes, as well as some oak, complex and just so damn sour, consecration style. the taste comes in two waves. the first is a berry, but not specifically strawberry tartness, fresh and addicting, sour of course, but not as pucker as the nose. some wheat malt and long fermentation characteristics are evident, as well as an acidity that is quite intense. the second wave, after a second or so pause, is a full bore watery mouth, salivation and drool from the sourness finally catches up with me, its about as much as my palate can handle. like strawberries that are still pink and white, although if I didn't know it, im not sure I would have been able to say strawberry specifically. I hate that its still though, it needs bubbles to percolate this into my palate, and its obviously missing. it needs to move, and it stagnates. still, the acidity is enough to make it finish quickly and drink easy enough. one of the more sour beers ive had, and a great use of fresh fruit. expensive but worth it to try.

Appearance  The body is gorgeous. It lights up the room. It is bright orange, and I mean orange, orange, orange, in color. Predictably, the head was non-existent.

Smell  Oh, this one is raunchy. The barnyard notes and smelly horse blanket are here in spades. Theres a nice, sugary scent as well along with some kind of wicked spicing.

Taste  This is good. The emphasis is on the horsey flavors, but the sweetness can not be denied. And, as indicated on the label, there are some nice, soft, strawberry notes in here as well. I particularly enjoyed the way in which the barny flavors came in.

Mouthfeel  I liked the play that I got from the sour and sweet combination. They mixed very well together, which may be an indication that my four-year-old bottle was ready to pour. This one also was beginning to take on some dry characteristics at the finish.

Drinkability  This was a complex example of the style and made for a great afternoon sipping beer.

Presentation: Red cork and cage unique. Cork clearly states BrijHanssens Artisanaal Dworp. Below that is a bunch of other writing that I cant read. The warn label shows a picture of a strawberry plant and states B. United Internationals Masters Collection Limited Edition Pear 2000. Perhaps they meant Year 2000  those drunken Belgians and their label typos Oudbeitje Lambic.

The top of the bottle is really sticky and nasty. It smells like ass and strawberries. It is clear that there were two other labels on this bottle at some time that were removed and replaced with the current label Mold is also present near the top of the bottle but it looks to be deceased. This was the last bottle at Discount in Milwaukee and at $5.49, I consider this seven year old beer a steal. Some liquid appears to have evaporated from this bottle. The liquid is nearly 3 inches from the top of the bottle, and now its time to pour.

Pours into a champagne flute a pale yellow-brown, sort of mead like color, it that mead were a strawberry mead. There is absolutely no carbonation and no head. There are however lots of very minute particles floating in the liquid. They are barely visible.

Aroma is very pungent. There is a malodorous geuze scent that can be inhaled from a few feet away. This is specifically barnyard hay, horse hair, and rotten lemon juice. On closer examination, however, this drink is all strawberries, highly fermented, super sour, nasty strawberries, but strawberries none the less. There is even a sweetness in the air about this beer.

Taste: Holy Fahrvergnügen! This Shit is sour. Crap, my lips are permanently puckered. This is going to make kissing my girlfriend later a real problem. No wonder she hates it when I drink loads of geuze. Good thing shes out of town till Friday. Im going to need tow or three days to recover from this. Wow, this is so sour, I can hardly taste anything. Ive had some pretty intense geuze before but this definitely takes the cake in terms of shear sourness. Somewhere in this brew, which is growing musty in terms of both smell and flavor as it warms, is a strawberry. Yep, I can taste the strawberries but theyre not ripe, sweet strawberries theyre brown and nasty.

Oh, and whats that? A spec of lace on my glass. Wow, there is actually some carbonation left in this beer. The least Ive ever seen in a beer but a touch.

Back to the flavor. Mmm, its fun. There is a lot of grime, must, stank, and piss in here. There is also mephitis, fetor, and redolence. Damn, this brew has everything. Now Im tasting a lot of leaves and dirt as well as clover flowers. Hmm, and now there is a touch of brake fluid (I dont really know what brake fluid tastes like but I imagine that it tastes something like this).

Second Pour My lips are stinging now as if I had just eaten a dozen raw lemons. A dog biscuit aroma has developed. My stomach is begging me to stop drinking this. I think Im being poisoned. Still, my mouth screams for more. What a feel this has and its ever so unique. If only I could get more of this. Time to start building a collection Oudbeitje. If 7 years has made it this good, I feel like Im sinning when I think of what 10 or 15 years could do. If you see this beer buy and then send it to me.

A: Hazy yellow with small orange hues. A thin layer of big bubbles quickly fades away into a minimal ring of lacings.

S: A rather big smell, very funky. Lots of barnyard and something reminiscent of wet dog. Mouldering leaves and rocks, and a white wine-like acidity. All this is topped by a pleasant but subtle smell of sweet strawberries (like dry strawberries) and a hint of lemon. Very good and rather unique.

T: The taste is very tart, even sour. The funkiness is more restrained, but still very prominent with a character of wet hay and mud rather than barnyard. Very subtle wheaty notes get through every now and then. As with the funkiness, the fruity notes are slightly more restrained than in the smell. But the strawberries are still noticeable with a rather distinct flavor. A hint of lemon. The finish has actually a quite noticeable grassy bitterness to it, which complement the aggressive sourness and mild fruity sweetness really well. A nice tartness lingers on in the mouth for a long time.

M: Pretty big body for the style (still moderate though), very restrained carbonation with calm bubbles. I don't think I would have mind slightly more carbonation. It's not as dry as most comparable beers.

D: Very good. Good balance between acidity and sweet strawberry flavors.

S - Aroma has the Hanssens signature funk profile, which is on the heavy side and has aromas of cheese and, significant lemon tartness and some subtle sweet strawberry aromas.

T - Quite tart up front, with lemon leading the way. Quite funky, with a strong eartiness to the funk. Strawberry really seems to get lost here, though it does come through somewhat midway in the taste.

M - Crisp mouthfeel, but has a slight oily slickness to it.

O - Pretty tasty, and I'm glad I tried it, but for the price there are other gueuze/lambics I would go to first, especially since I didn't get a ton of strawberry out of this.

Pours yellow orange with a minimal white head. The aroma is very tart, with some vinegar and some funk. The taste is very tart with some sour strawberries and other fruit. There is also a little bit of funk but it pales in comparison to the pure tartness. Light mouthfeel and very drinkable. Very dry finish.

Picked this up from Total Beverage the other night after having walked by it a number of times. A fan of the other Hanssens offerings, so I thought it was finally worth a try.

Appearance- Pours a pale straw yellow that has maybe the slightest tinge of pink to it as well. Very minimal carbonation off of a very aggressive pour, just enough to put a thin coating of larger bubbles across the surface.

Smell- Hugely funky and acetic on the nose. Smells big of barnyard funk with a touch of wet leather. Lots of sour on the end with a touch of strawberry fruitiness.

Taste- Again, big sour and big funk without a lot more to it than that for me. Big notes of barnyard with a strong sour finish. Not much in the way of fruit for me, perhaps just a faint touch of strawberry on the finish.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability- Mouthfeel is pretty appropriate for the style if just a touch thin for how sour it is. Drinkability is not great given the strong funk and sourness but okay for the style

Overall, not my most favorite offering from Hanssens but alright. I prefer other fruit lambics over this but an interesting use of strawberry.

Wonderful farmyard stench and strawberries, some public toilet smells (but in a good way). Flavour is tart and sour, some subtle sweetness from the strawberries, its more the seeds than the actual flesh. Dry, sour and refreshing. Love it. So refreshing and lovely to drink.

A- the soft pop of a cork, pours a red hint to a crude clear body with no head and no carbonation. There are a few microbubbles stuck to the base of the glass.

S- Even during the pour there is a full funky barnyard nose with some horsey notes and some mushroom qualities. The lemon touch is fruit and bright in the finish.

T- The soft tartness has a gentle fruit touch to it with a finish of sharp tartness and white cheese rind with a watery fruit hint in the finish. There is a bright tartness that lingers on the tongue a bit after each sip.

M- The slick mouthfeel has a bit of a water texture and no fizz or carbonation.

O- This is a bright crisp crude beer with a touch of fruit and maybe a strawberry hint when it is very warm as well as some septic qualities that come through. The tartness is full and everything is well blended. It was a nice beer but didn't have an dominating flavors, everything was subtle except the sour.